The first band I'm going to name does not feature the drums particularly, it is rather the set up which is impressive.
Youngblood brass band are a brass band which play a mixture of Jazz/funk/hip hop as well as a variety of other influences which led to them coining their own genre 'Riot Jazz'. The band use a percussion section rather than a kit drummer (as is typical of a brass band) but play as though they are telepathically connected, often playing drum breaks which sound like they are being produced by one incredibly talented kit player.
I would recommend this track to anyone. Its a trombone solo, but probably one of the best tracks for showing how unified the percussion section are. I wish there was a live recording worthy of posting, but there just isn't.
Things to listen out for:
Bitching trombone solo
Saxophonist who clearly has no business being in the band
Drum break at 4:00
Sousaphone solo which follows the drum break (guy plays one note and sings another, its called multiphonics and it is part of the reason he's the best tuba player in the world)
As it turns out, that is a massive play list. So for further listening I would recommend copying and pasting the actual URL of that video and listening to the 40 song list. Their stuff is as varied as it can be for a huge brass group. Their early albums have some singing, their later stuff has rapping and a showdown between a DJ and the sousaphone player, there's a lot to sink your teeth into.
If you want to get an album of theirs I would have to recommend their 2003 effort 'Centre.Level.Roar'
Moving swiftly on and basically providing the bands of the two soloists I mentioned earlier.
Jojo Mayer's Nerve are a band who carry forward an idea close to my heart. They make crazy electronic music live with real instruments. Their album 'Prohibited Beats' is drum and bass orientated, although to me it has very clear undertones of fusion, something which I think comes with having such incredible musicians playing quite straightforward music (albeit incredibly technical music). The compound time fills, the extended synth patterns landing on any beat of the bar they choose, you can tell these guys really enjoy playing this stuff.
Here is another ridiculous track in terms of drumming:
The only album I can recommend is 'Prohibited Beats' which basically just has more of the same.
Benny Greb writes his own music and has released a couple of albums. His first, 'Grebfruit' was weird as fuck. It opened with a piece which was mainly a capella with a ludicrous drum accompaniment. I'm not entirely sure what I think of the piece (which sounds a lot better as a studio recording than in the video I'm about to link) but you can't deny that the drumming is diverse, technical and enjoyable to listen to.
Personally I prefer his other album which is simply called 'Brass Band'. Obviously as a trombone player I am massively biased but it isn't really the brass playing that makes that album, it is a) the composition (feels a little unfinished at times but the ideas are very nice) and b) the drumming (of course) which snaps between jazz, funk and rock breaks like nobody's business.
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